The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act is a principal source of federal funding to states and discretionary grantees for the improvement of secondary and post-secondary career and technical education programs across the nation. High-quality Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, supported by the Perkins Act, are an effective tool for improving student outcomes and help prepare both secondary and post-secondary students with the necessary academic, technical and employability skills required for successful entry into the workforce. CTE prepares students both for college and careers and is critical to meeting the needs of the 21st century economy.

The Preserving Data in Government Act would require federal agencies to preserve public access to existing open data sets, and prevent the removal of existing data sets without sufficient public notice. Small businesses rely on a range of publicly available machine-readable data sets to launch or grow their companies, and researchers and scientists use data to conduct studies for a variety of fields and industries. Though data produced by federal agencies is required to be preserved under the Federal Records Act, there is no requirement to make taxpayer-funded data openly available or machine-readable. Data that is not openly available can be requested through the Freedom of Information Act, but those requests can take years to process and cost taxpayers thousands of dollars. The Preserving Data in Government Act will ensure existing government data sets remain openly available and cannot be removed without sufficient public notice.

Earlier this month, President Trump signed the long awaited Executive Order on cybersecurity. The EO touches on several areas including risk management, IT modernization, and cybersecurity workforce. Additionally, the EO specifically states that each federal agency must use the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or any successor document, to manage the agency's cybersecurity risk.

The White House announced the creation of an advisory group dedicated to bringing private sector expertise to federal IT modernization efforts. The American Technology Council, aims to bring together Silicon Valley CEOs early next month to brainstorm ideas and coordinate strategies around modernizing government services and IT platforms.